You're a Hero now
by Duderman
Summary: An young, observant, lessthanentirelyinsane adult, made his way towards his friend's body. His conscience and sanity begin to decay as he realizes his friend's fate and his own helplesness.


A brief oneshot, illustrating the ending sequence of Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core.

It goes without saying that the following contains massive spoilers for the ending of the game, so if you would rather be left in ignorance to what happens; please don't read this.

Any feedback would be appreciated. I respond to all of your reviews.

Enjoy.

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His gloved hands slipped and slid over a wet, muddy earth. Rain drops from all around him clouded his eyes, as well as his ears. He could make out his destination a few dozen feet away; his body.

Slow, but consistent amounts of rain, falling down from the dark, clouded sky, formed puddles all around. The clear liquid was a peaceful kind; in its depths one could see the reflection of the moon, the sun, the clouds and ones self. But now, these puddles were a light crimson, a darker shade in some. He could no longer see himself in them.

After a good few minutes of struggling; after a good few minutes had past since the shooting… he finally reached the now pale, blood drenched body, which still seemed to be breathing.

As he stood on his knees, observing his fallen comrade below him… something happened that he will never forget. The briefest, most meaningful exchange of words took place between the two. He simply repeated his fallen comrade's words, and questioned them. At the time, they no longer made sense; none of it did, and they wouldn't make sense to him for a long, long time.

He had told him that this had been his part until now… and that he was the evidence that his fallen comrad had lived... all of this made little to no sense to him.

His comrade told him to have his pride and dreams… and bestowed upon him a tool used for executing the same actions that led to his fallen comrade's fate; death…

He repeated the words; "I am the evidence that you lived", but these words were said only to himself.

As his fallen comrad placed one last smile on his lips, his very last, and closed his eyes… the horrific, gut wrenching truth had hit him…

He made sounds as though this would change anything; he panicked and looked around. He hyperventilated, and his heart began to beat quicker by the second.

A few seconds passed when a sorrowful, piercing scream echoed across the entire landscape. The planet, the trees, the birds and the rain… they all felt his pain.

Flashbacks hit him now. Faint images and memories were projected in his mind of him… his fallen comrade… his only friend. "Grasp your dreams!" he had said to him… "If you want to be a hero, you must grasp your dreams!"

But what did these words mean to him, now that the person who had said that had died…? How could he become a hero without his friend; his last ally?

Tears did not cloud his vision… there was no room for this now… only rain pelted his face now.

All he could do was thank his fallen comrade… and promise him that he won't forget what happened… that he wouldn't forget him.

"Good night" he had said, but the words sounded hollow to him…

"Zack…"

This name meant the world to him.

The clouds had cleared… making way for the suns rays, which covered a majority of the landscape now. The puddles were no longer red with blood; the water reflected the warmth of the sun's rays now; not the sadness of his face.

He turned from his comrad, which to him was the hardest thing he had had to do since learning how to ride a bike. Along side him, he dragged his sword… his comrade's sword. To him, he would hold this weapon very dear.

Time passed. He didn't know how much time had passed, all he knew was that he was now roughly half way between his friend's final resting place; and the massive blackness, both literally and metaphorically, which was the city of Midgar.

As he made his way through the desolate landscape, pausing for nothing, never taking his eyes off of his goal; he realized that a part of him was dying. And he welcomed it.

Innocence, virtue, and above all… sanity was now beginning to decay in his mind.

In a way, his mind was becoming clearer; he remembered what his fallen comrade had said… he remembered his life… his stories… his aspirations… it was the only thing he remembered; the only thing he was willing to remember at all.

His friend had always held his chin high, proudly. So he did the same.

His friend had always walked with his shoulders straight, determinedly. So he did the same.

His fallen comrad had done many things… and he remembered them all.

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Night fell, covering the world in darkness… then came day; illuminating the lands again. This process continued for a while… it would continue forever, until the planet's dying days… which was threateningly close. But somewhere in between… sometime before these events; around the beginning in fact… a young man, his feet placed firmly on top of a train… was determined to become a hero. A hero like his friend once was.

Street lamps, houses, signposts, people, TV screens and much more passed him by on all sides as the train sped forwards. Its destination was the reactor.

This was an average train… full of not-so-average people, on a not-so-average night; for the events that would take place later that evening would shake the world.

A figure, clad in a familiar black and purple uniform, observed his surroundings. He couldn't think of what he thought of them, or how he felt about them… for his thoughts and feelings were no longer his own. He did not realize this as he slowly raised himself up from his crouching position.

"My name is Cloud Strife…"

His fixed his eyes on the building in the distance, rising high above all of its surroundings.

"Soldier… First Class"

His fall into obscurity had been complete.


End file.
